Devine Scripture

Revelation 1:19

What does Revelation 1:19 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 1:19 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 1:19 means

Christ commands John to write the things he has seen, the things that are, and the things that will take place after this. At minimum, this signals a comprehensive scope: the initial vision (what he saw), the present condition of the churches (what is), and the unfolding of God’s purposes (what will be). Revelation is thus both pastoral and prophetic, addressing current faithfulness and future hope and warning. The order also assures that interpretation begins with Christ Himself—first the vision of the Lord, then the church, then the future—keeping Jesus at the center of all that follows.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter;

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Put in writing, then, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will be after these;

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

`Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to come after these things;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Write therefore the things which thou hast seen: and which are: and which must be done hereafter.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Write therefore what thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to be after these.

Context

After revealing His identity and authority over death, Jesus gives John a clear commission that shapes the book’s structure. Readers are prepared to expect material about Christ’s glory (chapter 1), the churches’ present state (chapters 2–3), and the visions of coming judgments and triumphs (chapters 4–22). The next verse (v. 20) offers an immediate example of how Revelation interprets its own symbols, helping guard against confusion and anchoring the visions in Christ’s explanation.

v.18and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

v.19This passage

v.20the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Revelation 4:1

    After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voiceas of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.

  • Revelation 1:11

    saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

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